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Fitting bone conduction hearing devices to children: audiological practices and challenges
Dave Gordey1, Marlene Bagatto2
1Center for Applied Audiology, Oticon A/S, Smorum, Denmark.
Insights
Audiologists need better guidance for fitting bone conduction hearing devices (BCHDs) to children. Current practices, like using aided audiograms, show uncertainty in providing optimal amplification for pediatric BCHD users.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Hearing Healthcare
- Hearing Device Technology
Background:
- Evidence-based protocols for fitting air conduction hearing aids to children are crucial.
- Fitting protocols for bone conduction hearing devices (BCHDs) for pediatric populations are underdeveloped.
- This highlights a gap in current clinical practice for pediatric BCHD fittings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document current practices and challenges faced by audiologists fitting BCHDs to children.
- To identify areas where audiologists seek further guidance in pediatric BCHD fitting.
Main Methods:
- An online survey was distributed to pediatric audiologists across North America.
- A retrospective file review was conducted with seven clinics in North America.
Main Results:
- 144 audiologists responded to the survey, and 11 participated in the file review.
- Survey results indicate a need for guidance on optimal amplification for pediatric BCHD users.
- The aided audiogram is commonly used for verification and validation, but audiologists express uncertainty.
Conclusions:
- There is a need for clinically feasible electroacoustic verification methods for pediatric BCHD fittings.
- Outcome measures should complement electroacoustic verification for improved pediatric BCHD management.
Objective:
Evidence-based protocols for fitting air conduction hearing aids to children offers a vital resource for audiologists. Fitting protocols for providing BCHDs to children are not well-developed, leaving gaps in clinical practice. This work aims to document current practices and challenges of audiologists who fit BCHDs to children.
Design:
An online survey was distributed to paediatric audiologists in North America to describe their work with patients who use BCHDs. A retrospective file review was also conducted with a sample of clinics in North America to further understand practice patterns.
Study Sample:
A total of 144 audiologists from North America responded to the online survey. Eleven audiologists from seven clinics in North America participated in the retrospective file review.
Results:
Results of the survey indicated that audiologists are seeking guidance on how to provide optimal amplification to children who use BCHDs. The aided audiogram is widely used to verify BCHD fittings. Audiologists reported uncertainty about providing optimal amplification to children who wear BCHDs. The file review revealed the routine use of the aided audiogram for verification as well as for validation.
Conclusions:
For children who use BCHDs, there is a need for clinically feasible electroacoustic verification to accompany appropriate outcome measures.
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